1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure which is capable of absorbing a collision energy exerted on the lateral side of the vehicle body, effectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (kokai) No. 6-1174 discloses one vehicle body structure where a reinforcement member is arranged in a passenger's seat so as to extend to the direction of the width of a vehicle, which will be referred "vehicle's width direction" hereinafter.
However, since the reinforcement member is arranged generally parallel with the above vehicle's width direction at a low position inside the passenger's seat (substantially level with a reclining device), it is difficult in the above-mentioned structure to sufficiently bear a load inputted from a high position at the vehicle side collision with another vehicle having a bumper arranged at a relatively-high position, for example, RV (recreational vehicle). As the structure for bearing the impact load at a high position, there are structures disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (kokai) Nos. 5-301552 and 7-267038. In common with the vehicle body structures, since the reinforcement member is disposed highly between left and right passenger's seats at the front, a problem arises in that it is difficult to make sure of an interior space of the passenger's room or a space for a center console to be disposed on a floor tunnel. In addition, the above vehicle body structures are apt to cause the passengers to get on and off the vehicle with difficulty. Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (kokai) No. 9-169232 discloses a vehicle body structure having a reinforcement pipe inserted into a lower part of a seat back frame. However, this structure does not operate to convert the direction of load positively. Therefore, when the seat back frame, a reclining mechanism and a floor tunnel are respectively displaced to the vehicle's height direction, a problem arises in that the load cannot be transmitted into the floor tunnel effectively, causing an insufficient absorption of energy.